With the advent of mobility tools in food service business, time is now ripe for creating an Indian McDonalds to take desi food service overseas in the Quick Service Restaurant format as also casual dining segment, said Saloni Nangia, President, Technopak, Thursday at India Food Forum 2018 held here.
Foodservice business is becoming omni-present through physical and digital channels as cloud restaurant are gaining market share with food and people mobility, she added.
“Currently out of the 1,000 meals an individual has in a year, 150-odd are outside his home. But going forward this share of eating outside home will increase as he can as well enjoy outside home at the comfort of his home from cloud kitchens using technology” she said speaking at a session on the 2nd day of the India Food Forum 2018.
Market share of dining-in is set to rise from the prevailing 18-22 per cent and projected to gain rapidly. Moreover, tiffin, home style meals and subscription service offer a scalable business opportunity with consumer access to entire gamut of restaurants and other options through cloud kitchens, she said.
Food can now be ordered on the move at airports, railways, metro, bus stations, offices, campus and upcoming locations using digital technology.
Later, at a panel discussion held at the forum, stalwarts from the food service business concurred with the overall view of Omnichannel presence that has helped their business.
“It is comfortable to eat at home rather than get stuck in road traffic,” said Rahul Akerkar, Founder & MD, Qualia Hospitality.
“However, not all food services can be delivered, which is why Mcdonalds do not deliver French Fries. Hence our focus is on takeaways and not on delivery,” said Kiran Nadkarni, Founder & CEO, Kaati Zone.
Chaayos Founder, Nitin Saluja pointed out that half of his total business constitutes delivering ready to drink hot tea at homes. “Who would have thought about ordering hot beverage like tea at home,” Saluja asked.
To conclude, Krishnendu Daspgupta, Head – Unilever Food Solutions said, “Omnichannel is an option for the hotelier to sample his product. There is no three square or four square meal concept any more. Amazon, Flipkart have changed the way we are shopping and omni channel will change the way we eat.”
